Life after ‘Boyz N the Hood’

In the 20 years since the release of “Boyz N the Hood,” the film’s principals have all gone on to solid acting careers, including an Academy Award:

John Singleton: The director is preparing to release his eighth film since “Boyz.” Following a “Shaft” sequel starring Samuel L. Jackson, and “2 Fast 2 Furious,” the second installment of the car racing franchise, Singleton’s “Abduction,” a thriller starring “Twilight’s” Taylor Lautner, will open nationwide on Sept. 23.

Laurence Fishburne: With a steady stream of film and television projects to his credit — perhaps most notably his roles as Ike Turner in “What’s Love Got to Do With It” (which reunited him with “Boyz” costar Angela Bassett) and as Morpheus in the “Matrix” films — Fishburne recently concluded a stint on CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” received an Emmy nomination earlier this month for his portrayal of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in HBO’s “Thurgood” and stars in Steven Soderbergh’s “Contagion,” hitting theaters on Sept. 9.

Cuba Gooding Jr.: The actor famously went on to receive an Oscar for his performance in “Jerry Maguire,” delivering a memorably exuberant acceptance speech. He starred with Robert De Niro in “Men of Honor” in 2000 and 2003’s “Radio,” and just completed the Lucasfilm production “Red Tails,” about the Tuskegee Airmen, set for 2012 release.

Ice Cube: After his debut in “Boyz,” the rapper went on to thrive in his film career — in addition to becoming a major music producer — starring in several film series, including the “Friday” movies, the “Barbershop” movies and the family-oriented “Are We There Yet?” movies. Ice Cube just wrapped “Rampart,” with Woody Harrelson and Steve Buscemi.

Morris Chestnut: Following “Boyz” with such films as 1997’s “G.I. Jane” with Demi Moore and 2004’s “Ladder 49” with Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta, the actor most notably starred on the recently canceled sci-fi series “V,” in which he played Ryan Nichols, an alien determined to save Earth from his lizard-like race.